With a recent rise in social awareness of terrestrial environment protection, improvement in environmental safety has been demanded also in the field of photographic development processing. One of the measures taken for coping with this demand in the photographic industry is an effort to decrease photographic processing waste liquid to the lowest limit for reducing an environmental load, and the other is the removal of formalin used in a stabilizing stage or the safety management thereof for securing environmental safety. Techniques for attaining each purpose have been introduced.
In recent years, from the latter viewpoint, it has been pointed out that nonylphenoxypoly(ethylene oxy) compounds, surface active compounds for wetting used in stabilizing baths, also have a fear about safety of living environment in relation to substances disturbing physiological metabolic functions, in addition to formalin. It has been therefore desired that the amount thereof used is decreased, more preferably that a compound securing environmental safety and reducing surface tension is used in the place thereof. For example, JP-A-11-174646 (the term “JP-A” as used herein means an “unexamined published Japanese patent application”) proposes the use of 4-halophenol derivatives.
On the other hand, as to the use of alternative compounds to formalin for reducing the amount of formalin used in rinsing solutions or removing formalin therefrom, for example, JP-A-11-295864 proposes the use of hexamethylenetetramine, and JP-A-2000-98567 proposes rinsing solutions or stabilizing solutions using hydroxybenzaldehyde or hexamethylenetetramine derivatives. However, the use of these alternative compounds in the rinsing or stabilizing solutions raises the problems of roller marks left on surfaces of photographic materials after processing, and increased functional defects such as curls, undulations on edges (local deformation) and processing stains.
Recently, for complying with speedy service to general users, particularly needs for the preparation of photographic prints from digital cameras, and rationalizing transport for collection and delivery between photo stores and photofinishing laboratories, storefront laboratories (mini-laboratories) have been popularized in which compact automatic processors are installed at the photo stores to process photographic materials. In the storefront laboratories, speedy service to customers is important, and particularly, there has been a growing demand for shortening the development processing time of silver salt photographs.
With the progress of rapid processing which is conducted using high-concentration processing solutions and/or at high temperatures, for shortening the development processing time, the degree of swelling increases. Drying of the resulting photographic materials at high temperatures for a short period of time causes increased functional defects such as curls, undulations on edges (local deformation), processing stains and roller marks, as described above. When the rapid processing involving drying at high temperatures for a short period of time and a reduction in the amount of formalin or the use of alternative rinsing solutions are both employed, these defects appear more remarkably. The solution thereof has therefore been desired more eagerly.